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China’s instant noodle is facing it's greatest crisis ever – the fact that it is no longer popular.

Sales of instant noodle kits have plunged for three consecutive years, reports Chinese news outlet The Paper.

Sales in China had continuously increased for more than 10 years, reaching a peak of 46.22bn in 2013 – an average of 1,465 kits sold per second.

According to statistics from the World Instant Noodles Association, the annual sales of instant noodle kits in China was 38.5bn in 2016 - 8bn less than at its peak.

The industry's rapid demise is due to changes in lifestyle and consumption in China. When the industry reached it pinnacle in 2013, online-to-offline (O2O) services were booming, but the arrival of a fleet of apps offering a range of options has curtailed growth.

Development of high-speed rail has also played a key part in the downturn of the instant noodle market, according to Zhu Danpeng, a researcher from the China Brand Research Centre. 20 percent of all instant noodle kits used to be sold on trains. In recent years, however, high-speed trains have greatly shortened travel times, therefore rendering the snack almost redundant.